Legacy
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Stryker gets his revenge on mutants


Pain. That was all Kurt could think about at the moment, the burning pain that flowed from the scar on the back of his neck to the rest of his body. He could barely open his mouth to eat let alone speak, his gums always starting to bleed when he tried either one. His tail was unmoving, unless you counted trembling as movement.  
  
If Stryker had known that his mind-controlling serum had an after effect that would cause such pain to mutants and would not be cured for years and years, he would have most likely died laughing.  
  
Kurt lay in bed, the quilts thrown off savagely into the corner of the room. He lay there, in nothing but very light boxers, his scarred indigo skin drenched in feverish sweat that soaked through the sheets and mattress. He needed to shut his molten yellow eyes tightly, any kind of light or movement causing pain to lance through his brain.  
  
Ororo sat beside him, running a damp cloth over his brow and chest in slow easy strokes. When she had to turn his head to wet his neck and shoulders, she did so very gently and tried not to look at his scar there. It was bright red and inflamed, the center seeming to be filled with milk white pus that did not seem to want to burst. Every time she rested his head back to where it should be, he whimpered from the inertia he felt.  
  
No one knew what had caused this sudden infection and sickness in Kurt. It had started with a simple flu, which they had treated with the proper medicine and rest. But no sooner had it started to go away then it flared up ten times worse, leaving Kurt bedridden and panting badly. Hank still couldn't figure out what exactly was going on, despite all of the medicine and blood tests he performed.  
  
Slowly Kurt opened his watery eyes, and Ororo seemed to have doubled and blurred up, even swirling in a faint circle in place. Panting and wheezing faintly, he forced his aching body to sit, swallowing down the urge to both vomit and howl as it felt like his feet and hands were filling up with acid. He looked into Ororo's sky blue eyes with his own diseased yellow ones, crimson tears flowing freely.  
  
"Kurt, you should lay down." Ororo said softly. Kurt pushed his body to the breaking point as he leaned forward and rested his sweaty head in the crook of her neck, breathing in deeply of her scent of foreign spices.  
  
"Hold me." He whispered, his voice raw and hoarse, as he tasted blood in his mouth all ready. Ororo kept her hands away, biting her lower lip faintly as she looked at his dead tail.  
  
"Kurt, if I touch you, you'll feel pain again." She said softly.  
  
"Ororo, I'm in pain now." Kurt pointed out. "Hold me. Tell me what is going on outside of this room. How is Scott doing?" Slowly, Ororo wrapped her arms around him, rocking slightly. She was right of course, as soon as her skin touched his, Kurt's body erupted with fresh pain. He closed his eyes and let her rock him, ignoring the pain.  
  
"Everyone's worried about you, Kurt. Hank is trying his best to find a cure for you." She said. "It's fall and the leaves have all ready started to turn yellow and red, falling to the ground in giant piles." She added, laughing faintly at the thought. Kurt smiled very slowly, hot blood flowing onto her shirt.  
  
"Do the children play in it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.  
  
"A few do." Ororo said sadly. "Most of them are too worried about you to go out and have fun."  
  
"Tell them to go out and have fun for me." He insisted. He tried to raise his head but he gave up. "Promise?"  
  
"I promise." Ororo nodded, stroking the back of his head gently.  
  
"How is Scott?" Ororo's hand stopped stroking his back at once. Kurt sighed softly, knowing the answer right away.  
  
"Scott's started to get sick like you." Ororo said finally. She felt Kurt start to move and she turned her head, finding to her surprise their lips meeting together. His lips were cold and clammy, and she could taste his blood but she still loved it, having loved it for the five months since he first came here. When they parted, Kurt couldn't help the shudder of pain that ran through his body.  
  
"Kurt?"  
  
"I feel really tired." Kurt said, his eyes wandering the room. "I think I need to lay down and go to sleep." As he spoke, Ororo watched in horror as his tail slowly shriveled up and disappeared finally. His indigo skin slowly turned pale white and his large fingers and toes split apart and turned into perfect human hands and feet.  
  
"Oh Goddess." she whispered. Kurt slowly fell back onto his soaked bed, his ebony hair sticking to his face. With a trembling hand, Ororo closed his beautiful amber eyes before she burst into tears, resting her head on his narrow chest.  
  
Outside, the sky turned black and rain began to pour down harshly, the oceans starting to rage and thrash about to show the world Ororo's sorrow.  
  
In the medical room, Scott was starting to suffer from the same illness, his glasses shattering under the sudden intensity of his optic blasts.  
  
Later, it would be known as the Legacy Virus. 


End file.
